Inside the Opera Epiclese.
After Furina had finished her speech, the audience all left one after another. Their faces are full of happy smiles and chatter. It was clear that they were satisfied with their new Hydro Archon.
A civil servant from the Palais Mermonia approached Furina. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up. He first bowed and then excitedly said. "Lady Furina! I am Dako. It is such an honor to guide you on your tour of the Palais Mermonia!"
[T/L: I just spent 30 mins reading and trying to figure out about their government structure… and yeah… no way bye]
Clearly, this civil servant had already become a fan after Furina's recent speech.
Furina, who had just been able to relax, instantly tensed up when she noticed someone approaching. She stood up tall and took on her confident persona. "My dear subject, there's no need for such formalities. Seeing someone like you who loves me as much as you do brings me great joy. Now, lead me to see this magnificent palace!"
Seeing Furina's reaction, Dako's excitement was even more evident, but he still did not forget about his duties. The Archon and the man boarded a carriage. Dako stood beside her while she sat down elegantly inside, making sure to maintain her act with grace and nobility at all times.
Rina watched her as she felt deeply uncomfortable.
One second, Furina takes off her mask, only to instantly put it back on not long after.
Rina knows that once the mask is worn, it won't be that easy to take it off…
After a while, outside the Palais Mermonia
Furina and Dako disembarked the carriage. Then, Dako led the way inside the Palais Mermonia. All the staff around and inside had immediately stopped their work upon seeing Furina.
"Lady Furina!"
"Lady Furina!"
They had certainly heard about her accession speech.
Seeing so many people crowd around her, Furina started to feel a little nervous and overwhelmed. Rina frowned and immediately raised her hand. Gentle Hydro energy slowly flowed into Furina's body as it calmed her down. Furina then smiled enthusiastically as she greeted those around her.
The Palais Mermonia was bright and grand, featuring a French architectural style. After greeting Furina, all of the staff had to return to their work. They looked genuinely busy, there were many documents piled high on their desks and hardly anyone had stopped to rest.
'Ah—the life of working people is truly a hard one.' Rina sighed.
Furina didn't bother to pay attention to Rina's words. Instead, she was more focused on her strange emotional shit just moments ago. She immediately suspected Rina of having a helping hand in that. 'Other me, was that you who helped me? Thank you…'
Hearing Furina's words, Rina's heart instantly bloomed with joy as an uncontrollable smile spread across her face. Upon realizing that, she quickly turned her head away as she puffed up her cheek. 'No, No! I most definitely did not help you!' She made sure that Furina wasn't able to see her smiling face.
Although Furina hadn't deliberately tried to look either way.
Seeing Rina's reaction, even if Furina was slow to catch on, she could still guess what happened. However, she decided to not expose Rina's lie and her trust toward her boosted up slightly.
"Lady Furina, this is the office for the Chief Justice that you had previously announced."
The office was vast and magnificent and a large desk was placed at the far end.
"Ah... huh? ludex? Who is that?" Furina was startled internally, but her face remained expressionless, acting as if nothing had happened.
'The Hydro Dragon Sovereign—Neuvillette. It was the Hydro Archon—Focalors—who invited him. Ah, I forgot you didn't know… Mirror Me is the Hydro Archon of Fontaine.'
Rina continued. 'Once he arrives, you can hand over all the paperwork to him and you'll be free.'
'Tsk, she's still quite useful in bringing over a dragon to do all the work. Furina will certainly be able to relax a lot more often… but will any of the nobles approve of this? Seems like we'll need to prepare against them.'
Rina didn't bother to voice the second half of that thought as she was currently formulating a plan.
Furina didn't notice as she was already dizzy from the sheer amount of information and her steps involuntarily slowed down. Dako noticed Furina's unusual behavior and asked worriedly. "Lady Furina, Is something the matter?"
"Ahem..." Furina coughed twice before quickly recovering. "Nothing, nothing! I am the Hydro Archon, Focalors. What could possibly be wrong?"
Since Furina had said so herself, Dako naturally didn't question any further. He then led Furina to the upper levels of the Palais Mermonia.
"This is the location of the Marechaussee Phantom and Gardes. The Marechaussee Phantom is an organization directly under the Chief Justice, who is responsible for investigating major cases, while the Gardes are responsible for maintaining public order in Fontaine."
After touring the area and greeting all the staff at work, they then arrived together at the top floor of the Palais Mermonia.
"Lady Furina, this is your private residence."
The Hydro Archon's accommodations were naturally not perfunctory: a Western European-style suite, fully furnished and with blue decor that perfectly suited her.
Oh, and there was also a mirror.
Yes, the same mirror which Furina and Focalors communicated with.
Furina instantly fell in love with the place.
'Hmm... barely acceptable.' Rina grudgingly about the environment, though her smiling face had betrayed how much she actually liked the place.
"In that case, Lady Furina, I shall take my leave." With that, Dako exited the room. It was already evening, and tomorrow she would formally assume the role of the Hydro Archon.
After making sure that the doors and windows were properly closed, she was finally able to lay down on the bed. The act that she had to maintain all day had finally vanished as she reverted back to her gentle, quiet, and polite self.
Currently, Furina was planning on how to play the Hydro Archon better, while Rina was also thinking about certain matters. The two didn't talk with each other for a while and eventually Furina quickly fell asleep.
However, after today, Furina had lowered some of her guard against Rina and was at least willing to hear her words out now.
Late at night, at a private residence in Fontaine.
"The new Hydro Archon has just arrived and judging by her performance, she belongs entirely on the opposite side of us. There's also the upcoming Chief Justice, meaning that our power and influence will be at risk. So.. what do we all think?" An elderly man spoke slowly. He sat in the center, appearing to be the highest-ranking person among them. Around him were a dozen other high ranking noble men.
It was clear that these were all of Fontaine's top nobles
Since the fall of Khaenri'ah, the death of the former Hydro Archon Egeria, and the new Hydro Archon Focalors had only officially shown herself today.
Before, Focalors had made some moves but hadn't interfered with Fontaine's internal affairs. Which allowed the nobles to seize the vast majority of power in Fontaine.
But now, with the arrival of Furina and Neuvillette, it meant they would have to spit out the meat they had already eaten. How could they possibly agree to that?
"Regarding the Hydro Archon, I believe we should wait and watch.. We had only witnessed her attitude throughout her speech and never once actually seen her displayed any power. So what if… and I mean if, she doesn't actually possess any power or only a tiny amount. We could then…" A man to the right of the elderly speaker proposed his idea.
At these words, the entire room erupted in an uproar.
"Delore, are you absolutely insane!? This is the Hydro Archon we are talking about! If you are discovered to have planned such an idea then your entire family will end up in the Fortress of Meropide!"
"I also disagree, the risk is far too great. "
"I too, also disagree."
Everyone voiced their disapproval of his suggestion.
The man, however, slammed his fist onto the table as he said, raising his voice. "We can act before the Chief Justice arrives in Fontaine, and if we were to have succeeded then we can simply use public pressure to drive him away. Then, Fontaine will be almost under our control. Besides, have you all forgotten that if we were to do nothing then our power will be drastically cut!"
The man had brought up additional points that certainly tempted a few people but the majority still remain skeptical.
He then continued. "If we were to handle this carefully, then even if we were to fail, the investigation won't lead back to us. Plus, we'll be able to use this opportunity to test the Hydro Archon."
"Even if we were to take a step back and get discovered. Given our amount of resources under our control, a slight threat is all that it would take. Would the Hydro Archon dare to move against us?"
Clearly, this was a gamble.
If they didn't move and take a gamble, then they would only be left with a small portion of their power. If they won in their gamble, then nearly all of Fontaine would be theirs. However, if they were to have lost but weren't discovered, then they would still have some benefits while being able to live comfortably.
It seemed like a worthwhile idea.
This wasn't just an all or nothing situation.
It was everything or continue living comfortably.
At this point, almost everyone agreed, except for one or two timid nobles. The few were immediately imprisoned.
The remaining aristocrats then continued to discuss their plan.
The lights in the residence stayed on all night. When the moon set and the sun rose, the nobles left the mansion one by one, looking hurried, clearly off to attend to some urgent matters.
These coming days were certainly going to be rough...